The present invention relates to a device for forming tableware such as a spoon, fork, dish, cup or lunch box, or other structural products including containers and the like having a deep-drawn structural portion, as well as daily household goods having the above-mentioned structural portion by means of bend-drawing from vegetable fiber materials, and to a method for forming the above-mentioned products from the vegetable fiber materials.
It is well known that tableware of disposable type such as a spoon, fork, dish, cup or lunch box, or other structural products including containers and the like having a deep-drawn structural portion, as well as daily household goods having the above-mentioned structural portion have been conventionally provided in volume as plastic formed products. These plastic formed products are exclusively consumed in a disposing manner, so that they become a large amount of garbage after use, which is to be disposed of by means of burning and the like method. The burning process of the above-mentioned plastic formed products has an important problem to be solved that pollutants such as dioxins are generated. Paper cups, paper dishes and the like of disposable type have been produced, however, they are at most paper products and their costs are high, and thus it has been impossible to produce tableware using vegetable fiber materials obtainable from pomace of an apple, bamboo, potato and the like which is well biodegradable.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a device for forming the above-mentioned tableware and the like of disposable type by means of the vegetable fiber materials as described above which are easily bio-degraded after use to cause no environmental pollution, and to provide a method for forming such tableware and the like of disposable type.
To achieve the above object, invention forms a device for forming vegetable fiber materials in which a sheet member of vce for forming vegetable fiber materials in which a sheet member of vegetable fibers is punched into a preset shape to form a vegetable fiber material S, and a final product G is formed from the vegetable fiber material S, the device comprising:
a first conveying means for sequentially and intermittently conveying the vegetable fiber material S from a supply position to a bend-drawing position;
a humidifying means for humidifying the vegetable fiber material S to give it a preset water content during the period of conveyance by the first conveying means;
a bend-drawing means for bend-drawing the vegetable fiber material S humidified by the humidifying means into an intermediate formed article Sxe2x80x2 at the bend-drawing position;
a second conveying means for conveying the intermediate formed article Sxe2x80x2 bend-drawn by the bend-drawing means from the bend-drawing position to a product pickup position;
a warm air drying means for solidifying with warm air the intermediate formed article Sxe2x80x2 into a final shape during the period of conveyance by the second conveying means; and
a cool air drying means for drying with cool air the intermediate formed article Sxe2x80x2 after warm-air-drying by the warm air drying means to finish into the product G.
Furthermore, the invention forms a device for forming vegetable fiber materials in which a sheet member of vegetable fibers is punched into a preset shape to form a vegetable fiber material, and a final product is formed from the vegetable fiber material, the device comprising:
a turntable as a first conveying means comprising a plurality of material placing portions with a through hole for placing the vegetable fiber material provided at preset central angles, the turntable intermittently rotating at the preset central angle;
a humidifying means for humidifying the vegetable fiber material intermittently rotating by means of the turntable;
a bend-drawing means provided above the turn table, comprising an upper mold for sequentially pressing the humidified vegetable fiber material from above and a lower mold, the lower mold having a mold hole through which the upper mold is to penetrate and cooperating with the upper mold for bend-drawing the vegetable fiber material pushed by the upper mold and penetrating through the through hole of the turntable downwardly;
a second conveying means provided with a plurality of formed article placing portions for holding an intermediate formed article bend-drawn into an intermediate shape as a result of being pushed by the upper mold and penetrating through the lower mold downwardly, the second conveying means intermittently shifting the formed article placing portion;
a warm air drying means for drying with warm air the intermediate formed article intermittently sent by the second conveying means to solidify it into a final shape;
a cool air drying means for drying with cool air the intermediate formed article after warm-air-drying by the warm air drying means to finish into the product.
Furthermore, the invention forms a device for forming vegetable fiber materials in which a sheet member of vegetable fibers is punched into a preset shape to form a vegetable fiber material, and a final product is formed from the vegetable fiber material, the device comprising:
a first turntable comprising a plurality of material placing portions with a through hole for placing the vegetable fiber material provided at preset central angles, the first turn table intermittently rotating at the preset central angle;
a humidifying means for humidifying the vegetable fiber material intermittently rotating by means of the first turn table;
a bend-drawing means PM provided above the first turn table, comprising an upper mold for sequentially pressing the humidified vegetable fiber material from above and a lower mold, the lower mold having a mold hole through which the upper mold is to penetrate and cooperating with the upper mold 6 for bend-drawing the vegetable fiber material pushed by the upper mold and penetrating through the through hole of the first turntable downwardly;
a second turntable provided with a plurality of formed article placing portions at preset central angles for holding an intermediate formed article bend-drawn into an intermediate shape as a result of being pushed by the upper mold and penetrating through the lower mold downwardly, the second turntable intermittently rotating at the preset central angle;
a warm air drying means for drying with warm air the intermediate formed article intermittently sent by the second turntable to solidify it into a final shape;
a cool air drying means for drying with cool air the intermediate formed article after warm-air-drying by the warm air drying means to finish into the product.
Furthermore, the device for forming vegetable fiber materials of this invention, a material sending means for sequentially sending out the vegetable fiber material formed into a preset shape by punching to the material placing portion of the turntable and a product pickup means for picking up the finished product from the formed article placing portion of the second conveying means are provided.
Furthermore, the device for forming vegetable fiber materials of this invention, a stopper guide of a small projecting strip is provided on the top surface of the turntable and along the through hole of the material placing portion.
Furthermore, the device for forming vegetable fiber materials of this invention, the vegetable fiber material is made of pomace obtainable by squeezing vegetables.
Furthermore, the device for forming vegetable fiber materials of this invention, the product is tableware such as a spoon, fork, dish, cup or lunch box, or other structural products including containers having a deep-drawn structural portion, as well as daily household goods having the above structural portion.
Furthermore, a method for forming vegetable fiber materials of this invention, forming a vegetable fiber material having a preset shape by punching a sheet member of vegetable fibers;
humidifying the vegetable fiber material formed into a preset shape to give it a preset water content;
bend-drawing the humidified vegetable fiber material into an intermediate shape;
solidifying the shape into a final shape by warm air drying while keeping the intermediate shape; and
cool air drying for finishing.
Furthermore, a method for forming vegetable fiber materials of this invention, the water content and temperature of the vegetable fiber material directly after humidification are set at 50% to 90% and 30xc2x0 C. to 50xc2x0 C., respectively.
Furthermore, a method for forming vegetable fiber materials of this invention, the vegetable fiber material is made of pomace obtainable by squeezing vegetables.